Assigning vectors to a list of names

Hello everyone, I have a list of str values and to every name I want to associate a vector of two elements, but I can't do it directly.

just as an example, i want to assign the vector [1,2] to each element of the list:

vectors=['name1','name2','name3','name4','name5']

for i=1:length(vectors)

vectors(i)=[1,2]

end

but as long as vectors(i) is a str value i can't do it. Pls help me with this, I know it's very simple but I'm stuck on it.

[Stephen23]

"Pls help me with this, I know it's very simple but I'm stuck on it."

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/discussions/tips/849901-tutorial-why-variables-should-not-be-named-dynamically-eval

[John D'Errico]

Learn to use arrays. Cell arrays. Structs. All sorts of things that CAN be used far more effectively than what you incorrectly think you want to do.

Answer 1

[Voss]

vectors = "name"+(1:5)

vectors = 1x5 string array
    "name1"    "name2"    "name3"    "name4"    "name5"

Given that string array of names, rather than creating a variable for each name, you can create a scalar struct with a field for each name, with each field's value being the vector [1,2].

Here's one way to do that:

C = cellstr(vectors);
C(2,:) = {[1,2]};
S = struct(C{:})

S = struct with fields:
    name1: [1 2]
    name2: [1 2]
    name3: [1 2]
    name4: [1 2]
    name5: [1 2]

Then in the rest of your code, when you want to refer to the vector for name "name1", you can write

S.name1

ans = 1×2

1 2

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and so on.

For example you can assign a new value to the 'name3' vector:

S.name3 = [1 2 3]

S = struct with fields:
    name1: [1 2]
    name2: [1 2]
    name3: [1 2 3]
    name4: [1 2]
    name5: [1 2]

If the name is stored in a variable, that's easy to accommodate as well:

vector_name = 'name4';

% retrieval:
S.(vector_name)

ans = 1×2

1 2

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% assignment:
S.(vector_name) = [1 2 3 4]

S = struct with fields:
    name1: [1 2]
    name2: [1 2]
    name3: [1 2 3]
    name4: [1 2 3 4]
    name5: [1 2]

Answer 2

[Walter Roberson]

It isn't hard.

vectors=["name1","name2","name3","name4","name5"];

tname = tempname + ".m";
[fid, msg] = fopen(tname, 'w');
if fid < 0; error('failed to open "%s" because "%s"', tname, msg); end
for K = 1 : length(vectors)
    fprintf(fid, '%s = [1 2];\n', vectors(K));
end
fclose(fid);

run(tname);

delete(tname);